Tape applicator

ABSTRACT

THIS TAPE APPLICATOR IS PRIMARLY INTENDED FOR APPLYING MASKING TAPE TO WINDOW GLASS PANES, ALONG SASH MUNTINS, PREPARATORY TO PAINTIN GHT EMUNTINS. THE APPLICATOR COMPRISES A TAPE ROLL SUPPORT, A GUIDE ALONG WHICH IS TRAINED TAPE UNROLLED FROM THE TAPE ROLL, A TAPE PRESSER AT THE END OF THE GUIDE AND A KNIFE AT THE END OF THE GUIDE FOR SEVERING THE TAPE AFTER A TAPE STRIP HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THE GLASS. THE GUIDE HAS A TRANSVERSELV CURVED BED NARROWER   THAN THE PRESSER, AND HAS A CURVILINEAR DIMENSION AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE TAPE WIDTH.

y 1972 B. w. WUERCH TAPE APPLICATOR Filed Aug. 26 1970 3,666,601 Patented May 30, 1972 3,666,601 TAPE APPLICATOR Ben W. Wuerch, 4203 N. 62nd St., Milwaukee, Wis. 53203 Filed Augl26, 1970, Ser. No. 67,013 Int. Cl. B32b 31/18, 31/20 US. Cl. 156-527 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Masking tape is' typically applied manually off of a masking tape roll. It is diflicult to guide the tape accurately and to cut it off in exact lengths.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The tape applicator of the present invention will smoothly and accurately lay a strip of masking tape along side a window muntin and will cut off the tape in exact lengths. The applicator has a tape roll support and a guide along which tape unrolled from the tape roll is trained. These parts are mounted on a pistol-grip handle for ease in manipulation and good visual observation of the tape laying process. The guide is provided at its end with a presser foot which presses and smooths the tape as it is applied to the window pane. A knife at the end of the guide is located in slightly elevated spaced relation to the smoothing surface of the presser foot, so as not to interfere with application of the tape to the window pane.

After laying down a strip of tape of exact length to span between two muntins, the guide can be swung around the presser foot which acts as a pivot, thus to clamp the tape between the knife and the window pane. A simple twist of the tool will cause the knife to sever through the tape. The applicator is then in readiness for laying another strip of tape.

The pistol grip is disposed at one side of the aligned tape roll and guide to facilitate manipulation of the applicator in confined spaces and good sight lines from the operator to the 'work.

The guide is desirably provided with a transversely curved bed which is narrower than the presser foot, but which has a curvilinear width at least equal to the tape width. Accordingly, the tape is confined in curled relation within the guide for good control of the tape. However, when the tape runs over the presser foot and is laid on the glass, the tape is as wide as the presser foot, thus to insure snugging the tape laterally against the muntin.

Accordingly, the applicator achieves good control over the path of the tape, but the tape guide does not obstruct or interfere with laying the tape down in lateral contact with the muntin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating the applicator in use. FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. '1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the applicator.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the applicator guide in the course of being swung forwardly about the presser foot, thus to engage the knife with the tape and sever the tape.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the applicator in use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. The scope of the invention is defined in the claims ap ended hereto.

The applicator 10 comprises a pistol-grip handle 11 with an extension 12 having fiat surface 13 along side of which a tape roll '14 is adapted to turn on a mounting axle 15.

The extension 12 carries an elongated, forwardly projecting tape guide 16 which has a transversely curved bed 17 (FIG. 2) and in-turned edge flanges 18. A strip of tape 21 unwound from roll 14 is trained through the guide 16 and along the curved bed 17. Thus, the tape is curled transversely and assumes a curvilinear shape in transverse section as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, even though the tape 21 is wider than the guide 16, it may nevertheless be guided smoothly because the transversely curled tape needs less space than if it were fiat.

At its end, the guide 16 is provided with a flat presser foot or shoe 22. The bottom of shoe 22 is flat. The curved bed 17 of the guide gradually flattens out at 20 to merge with the fiat shoe 22. The flanges 18 are relieved at 28 to permit the tape 21 to flare out to a wider shape where the tape leaves the guide over shoe 22. The end of shoe 22 is provided with a slot 23 into which a serrated knife blade 24 is imbedded.

The applicator is typically used to lay a strip of tape 21 along side the muntin 25 and between muntins 29 which frame a window pane 26, preparatory to painting the muntins. The end strip will be started snug against the edge of one muntin 29 by pressing the foot 22 against the surface of pane 26, thus adhering the tape thereto. The applicator is then pulled along the muntin 25, maintaining light pressure against the tape, thus to lay the strip along the muntin 25 and in snug lateral abutment therewith, as is shown in FIG. 5.

The presser foot 22 applies the necessary pressure to adhere the pressure sensitive adhesive coating on the underside of the masking tape to the pane and also smooth the tape onto the pane. The pressor foot 22 is drawn along in lateral abutment with muntin 25 so as to lay the tape 21 in lateral contact with the muntin. Accordingly, the tape is not confined laterally as it passes over the presser foot 22. However, most of the length of the tape between the roll 14 and the foot 22 is nevertheless securely guided and is laterally confined by flanges 18 inside of the guide 16, because of the curl of the tape over the curved bed 17 of the guide. This construction permits good control over the tape pay-out from the roll 14 onto the glass pane and still permits the tape to be snugged up against the edge of the muntin as it issues from the guide. Only a very short length of the tape, namely, from the point where the curved bed 17 runs out to the nose 27 of the guide is left unconfined laterally. The flanges 18 of the guide 16 are relieved at 28 to permit the tape 21 to flare out to the full width of the pressor foot 22 as the tape leaves the curved bed 17 of the guide 16.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the knife blade 24 projects from the nose 27 of the guide at a level above that at which the presser foot 22 applies the tape to the surface of the window pane 26. Accordingly, the knife does not interfere with application of the tape to the surface. However, at the completion of a tape applying stroke of the applicator, the aplicator is swung or pivoted around the presser foot 22 to the position indicated in FIG. 4, at which point the knife blade 24 new contacts the tape strip 21 and clamps the strip 21 to the surface of the window pane 26. A twisting action on the applicator will now cause the knife to. sever the tape sharply at its serrated edge. As indicated in FIG. 4, this technique permits cutting ofi the strip in exact lengths needed to span between cross muntins 2.9. The applicator is now in readiness for laying the next strip of tape alongside of another muntin.

' By disposing the pistol-grip handle 11 at the side of the roll 14 and guide 16, the users hand by which the handle 11 is held will be out of the line of sight of the operator. Accordingly, the operator has good visual observation of the tape applying operation.

While the applicator has been described as applying tape to a flat surface, it can also be used to apply tape to a curved surface, as in masking contoured objects.

I claim:

1. A tape applicator comprising a tape roll support, a guide along which tape unrolled from the tape roll is trained, a tape presser at the end of the guide, a knife at the end of the guide, said guide having a transversely curved bed narrower than the presser but having a curvilinear width at least equal-t the tape width.

2. The tape applicator of claim 1 in which the guide has edge flanges which confine the tape to said curved bed.

3. The tape applicator of claim 2 in which flanges are relieved adjacent the presser.=-

4. A tape applicator comprising a tape roll support, a guide along which tape unrolled from the tape roll is trained, a tape presser at the end of the guide, a knife at the end of the guide, said knife beingdisposed at the end of the presser above the level at which the presser applies the tape to a surface, said knife bein engag'eable with the tape in the course of swinging the applicator-forwardly about the presser, thus to clamp the tape between the knife and the surface preparatory to severingth'e tape;

5. The tape applicator of claim 4 in which the presser has a slot in which the knife is embedded.

6. The tape applicator of claim 4 in which said guide has edge flanges which confine the tape thei'e between.

7. The tape applicator of claim 6,in which said edge,

flanges are relieved adjacent the presser,

UNITED STATES PATENTS I 

